House Committee Prioritizes Anti-Abortion Propaganda Over Facts; ACLU Comments

Decades of research show that comprehensive, fact-based sex education helps prevent unintended pregnancies, reduce the spread of sexually transmitted infections and foster healthy relationships.

But with a 10-3 vote, the House Health and Human Services Committee advanced a bill that would replace evidence-based information with misinformation for South Dakota school students. The ACLU of South Dakota opposes House Bill 1313, legislation that would require students watch a medically-inaccurate ultrasound video and view computer-generated graphics on fetal development as part of a “human development” curriculum.

“Young people should have access to accurate, science-based education that empowers them to make informed decisions about their health and futures – not politically motivated misinformation and anti-abortion propaganda,” said Samantha Chapman, ACLU of South Dakota advocacy manager. “House Bill 1313 does nothing to address teen pregnancy, maternal mortality and infant mortality. Instead, it prioritizes shame-based misinformation over real solutions while pushing an ideological agenda, not education.”

The National Sex Education Standards do not recommend viewing an ultrasound video for sex education and displaying such a video is not considered a best practice in the sex education field. Young people in South Dakota are already impacted by the state’s near-total abortion ban. This legislation only compounds the gap in access to medically necessary and qualified health services like abortion care.

“South Dakota’s youth deserve better than this bill offers – they deserve an accurate curriculum that will equip them to make healthy decisions and build the futures they want,” Chapman said.

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About the ACLU of South Dakota
The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota is a non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of civil liberties and civil rights. The ACLU of South Dakota is part of a three-state chapter that also includes North Dakota and Wyoming. The team in South Dakota is supported by staff in those states.

The ACLU believes freedoms of press, speech, assembly, and religion, and the rights to due process, equal protection and privacy, are fundamental to a free people. In addition, the ACLU seeks to advance constitutional protections for groups traditionally denied their rights, including people of color, women, and the LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit communities. The ACLU of South Dakota carries out its work through selective litigation, lobbying at the state and local level, and through public education and awareness of what the Bill of Rights means for the people of South Dakota.